Contemplation
by StrawberryUchiha
Summary: Sakura Haruno. Age: 18. Status: Single. How embarrassing.


Sakura Haruno was now eighteen

Sakura Haruno was now eighteen. She was eighteen and single. How embarrassing.

The pink haired kunoichi knew it was alright to be single and that everyone needed some time to themselves. What she did not like about this status was the fact that she had never really _had _a boyfriend. She had been too worried about her studies as a medical ninja to care too much about boys; besides, she was waiting for Sasuke-kun to return. Yet tonight, her single status was truly bothering her.

Sitting by the training grounds, she was looking up at the midnight sky and scattered stars, contemplating her options. There were lots of single guys around, right? There was always the childish Naruto, whom had been asking her out for years. Sai wasn't so bed to deal with anymore, and he was pretty good-looking. Yet this did not seem to suit her; they did not meet the bill. She wanted someone more mysterious, she supposed.

Pulling out a bottle of sake from the grocery bag that sat beside her, she poured herself a glass almost absentmindedly. Pathetic, really, how she was sitting out here with a little picnic of sorts, alone. It was as if she was having a date with herself. Just as she thought this, it was voiced aloud.

"Having a date with yourself?" The man's voice was joking, and Sakura knew immediately that it was none other than Kakashi Hatake. She didn't answer, but instead swirled her sake in a paper cup, and took a swig.

He sat beside her, pouring sake for himself, not bothering to wait for an invitation. That was the usual Kakashi, Sakura thought, and—HOLY SHIT—was he taking off his mask?

Sakura watched, open mouthed, as Kakashi pulled down the fabric constraining his nose and mouth down and over his chin. She took in his features slowly. A slender, pointed nose, thin peach-colored lips, and a strong chin accented his face and somehow made him look like an entirely different person. He took a sip of the sake, and looked out of the corner of his eye at Sakura questioningly.

"What?" he said, as if nothing had happened.

"Nothing, nothing." she said in a rather high-pitched voice. She let out a nervous laugh and looked away quickly.

"I see." he said, getting more comfortable on the blanket the kunoichi had laid out. "So what were you thinking about?"

That was Kakashi, the one who always consoled her. She toyed with the idea of telling him what was bothering her, but she said quickly, "Nothing. Don't worry about it."

His brow arched, yet he said casually, "If you insist." The pair went back to looking up at the sky. The stars were twinkling in the night sky. "You know, I've never done this with anyone since I've been single my entire life."

This statement took Sakura by surprise. Sure, Kakashi was her sensei, but she had always expected he had a life outside being a ninja. She had always assumed that he had a love life and a family. It was then that she finally realized that he had neither. Not only did she not notice this, but she had never bothered to find out. Now she felt guilty.

"Y-you've never been with anyone? Not ever?" she stuttered out, still surprised. "But you must be at least thirty!"

"I'm thirty-two."

Sakura fell silent. _Oh no, is this going to be me at thirty-two years old?_

"It's not all bad." Kakashi said. "It's nice to worry about yourself and no one else. I don't think I would have had the patience for a girlfriend or a wife."

"It's different for women, I think." Sakura told him.

"How so?"

"Motherly instinct, I suppose. It's like a virus—women all seem to want kids one day, and its not like we've found a way to do it ourselves." She looked into her almost drained sake cup, and poured herself some more as the pair continued to talk.

Kakashi watched, saying with somewhat of a hurt tone of voice, "I never said I didn't want kids."

"I never said you didn't." She downed the next glass of sake quickly. "And I never said I wanted kids."

"What about Sasuke?"

"What about him?" she said defensively.

"What if he comes back and wants kids?"

"I do want kids, I'm just saying that I hadn't said that. If that makes sense." She pondered this as she looked up at the sky, sipping more sake. "But if Sasuke comes back, he won't want me. We both know that."

Sakura sighed. This conversation was bringing out more truth than she liked, but it was too late to stop. Besides, she was now enjoying herself. It had been a long time since she'd talked to anyone in depth; she had been far too busy with medical studies. Talking to Kakashi was somewhat relieving.

"I suppose." he said. He too, sipped more sake. "But there are tons of guys who would kill to be with you."

Sakura let out a laugh. "What, you hear this in the locker room at the gym or something? No one's made a move for me but Naruto."

"What's so wrong with Naruto?"

This caught the pink haired woman off guard. Still, she thought fast. With a small shrug, she told him, "I guess I'm not looking for a boy, but a man. Naruto isn't a man yet."

"I see." He sat up. "So who do you have in mind?"

"That's the problem." she said. "I'm don't know any older guys."

"You know me." he said, and his hand fell on hers ever so lightly.

The woman stared at him. It was the sake talking, right? Or perhaps this was only an insane dream that was happening after she drank some massive amounts of sake in the clearing. Or maybe—

Her mind was shut up by his lips on hers, the lips she'd only just seen. Kakashi Hatake was really and truly kissing her, and she was only sitting there like a nimrod. She decided to kiss back, and soon the pair was in a gentle embrace, lips locked. When they pulled away, Sakura let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding, and Kakashi smiled.

"Surprised?"

"…" All she could do was stare, nodding.

"So does this mean we're no longer single?"

Recovering, Sakura finally spoke. "Yeah. Yes it does."

**A/N: I think Kakashi was a little OOC, but overall I liked it. What do you think?**


End file.
